About INVERSO
Inverso Productions was founded in 2012 in Spain to experiment with other art forms and ways of creating dance. Inverso has been a registered non-profit society in Vancouver, BC on on unceded Coast Salish territory since 2017, creating and providing access to dance that is intelligent, innovative and multi-disciplinary. Inverso is dedicated to inclusive practise and aims to dismantle traditional hierarchies that have been embedded in dance and beyond, find new collaborative models, while centring diverse artists in our creative endeavours. We have recently opened our creative work to senior movement practitioners in intergenerational performance and community engagement. Dance is a means to connect with our community by illuminating our shared humanity as we listen and increase our cultural sensitivity.
Inverso's works have involved the visual arts, literature, theatre, film, music and science. Inverso Productions has produced three full-length works: Brittle Failure, which has been a part of tours and festivals in Spain, the Netherlands and Canada, Spooky Actions and Gem-like. Inverso has been presented in the CaDance Festival and Korzo Theatre in the Netherlands, International Festival Madrid en Danza and the Reina Sophia Museum in Spain, the Chutzpah Festival, the Banff Festival of the Arts, the Gothenburg Dance and Theatre Festival, the Schmiede Festival, EDAM Choreographic Series, the Fluid Festival in Calgary, the Dancing on the Edge Festival, Dance in Vancouver and the Vancouver International Dance Festival. Inverso's collaborators include Berlin-based scenographer Yoko Seyama, writer Barbara Adler, videographer David Cooper and composer James Meger, and organizations such as TRIUMF UBC, Curiosity Collider, SFU School of Contemporary Arts and Pi Theatre and Sawdust Collector.
Inverso has expanded our work with and for emerging dance artists. We are proud of Performance Research Project collaborations with Ballet BC, Chor Leoni Men's Choir, and Bard on the Beach, Bloom Mascall Dance and the Vancouver Film School. We have offered a new OPEN series of workshops with award-winning Indigenous artist Margaret Grenier, Order of Canada recipient-Crystal Pite, Renee Segouin, Wen Wei Wang, Heather Myers and Shay Kuebler as well as streamed workshops with many international artists from the Netherlands, US, Germany, Spain, Senegal and France joined by dancers all over the world including workshops with Jermaine Spivey of Kidd Pivot and Michael Schumacher co-presented with SFU Woodwards and SFU Cultural Programs.
Ongoing partnerships include The Scotiabank Dance Centre and The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. We are grateful for past and present project support from the City of Vancouver, BC Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and our generous private donors.
Inverso's works have involved the visual arts, literature, theatre, film, music and science. Inverso Productions has produced three full-length works: Brittle Failure, which has been a part of tours and festivals in Spain, the Netherlands and Canada, Spooky Actions and Gem-like. Inverso has been presented in the CaDance Festival and Korzo Theatre in the Netherlands, International Festival Madrid en Danza and the Reina Sophia Museum in Spain, the Chutzpah Festival, the Banff Festival of the Arts, the Gothenburg Dance and Theatre Festival, the Schmiede Festival, EDAM Choreographic Series, the Fluid Festival in Calgary, the Dancing on the Edge Festival, Dance in Vancouver and the Vancouver International Dance Festival. Inverso's collaborators include Berlin-based scenographer Yoko Seyama, writer Barbara Adler, videographer David Cooper and composer James Meger, and organizations such as TRIUMF UBC, Curiosity Collider, SFU School of Contemporary Arts and Pi Theatre and Sawdust Collector.
Inverso has expanded our work with and for emerging dance artists. We are proud of Performance Research Project collaborations with Ballet BC, Chor Leoni Men's Choir, and Bard on the Beach, Bloom Mascall Dance and the Vancouver Film School. We have offered a new OPEN series of workshops with award-winning Indigenous artist Margaret Grenier, Order of Canada recipient-Crystal Pite, Renee Segouin, Wen Wei Wang, Heather Myers and Shay Kuebler as well as streamed workshops with many international artists from the Netherlands, US, Germany, Spain, Senegal and France joined by dancers all over the world including workshops with Jermaine Spivey of Kidd Pivot and Michael Schumacher co-presented with SFU Woodwards and SFU Cultural Programs.
Ongoing partnerships include The Scotiabank Dance Centre and The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. We are grateful for past and present project support from the City of Vancouver, BC Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and our generous private donors.
photo by Sasha Onyshchenko
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Lesley TelfordExecutive Artistic DirectorBio
Lesley is a choreographer and the Artistic Director of Inverso Productions. She is grateful to live and work on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people. Through Lesley’s choreographic work she explores the physicality and spatial structures of emotional states at the intersection of dance, the visual arts, text and film. Her work has been described as having “a profound way of tapping into very deep recesses of our emotional and intellectual landscapes”. She has created multiple works for Ballet BC along with commissions for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Netherlands Dans Theater 1, Hubbard Street Dance Company 2, Compañia Nacional de Danza 2, Ballet Vorpommern, International Project for Dance in Rome- DAF, Butler Ballet, University of Utah, and Arts Umbrella Dance Company. She founded Inverso Productions in 2012 to experiment with other art forms and ways of creating dance. As an educator and mentor, she has a long-standing commitment in support of emerging dance artists. To further this purpose Inverso has developed outreach and professional platforms to provide valuable opportunities and experience. She has taught internationally in many companies and schools. Lesley finished her studies in Montreal at L´École Supérieur de Danse du Québec before joining the company Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. She went on to dance with Nacho Duato´s Compañia Nacional de Danza in Madrid, Spain. Most recently she danced with Netherlands Dans Theater 1. Lesley has a Master of Arts in Cultural Production from the University of Salzburg and the Mozarteum. |
photo by Chris Randle
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Heather MyersArtistic AssociateBIO
Heather is a mother, dance artist, and arts facilitator. She received her training at the National Ballet School and The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and danced with Alberta Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Netherlands Dance Theatre. As a company dancer, and later, as an independent artist she has worked with artists including Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Jiri Kylian, Medhi Walerski, Lucinda Childs, Ivan Perez, Marina Mascarell, and Lesley Telford. Heather received the Clifford E. Lee Award for choreography in 2009 and has worked as a commissioned choreographer and instructor of technique and creative process locally and internationally. While living in Holland, Heather organized community-based interdisciplinary improv sessions as part of her work on NDT’s SWITCH committee, and later initiated dance exchange/workshops during personal travel in Indonesia and India. Most interested in questions around creative process, context, and the social relevance of artistic intelligence, Heather now enjoys supporting the evolution and delivery of other people's work. Pursuing these interests, Heather is currently completing The Tamalpa Institute's Teacher Training Program in Life/Art processes and Somatic Movement Education, and recently completed an Arts Management program at Capilano University which included practicum work with The PuSh Festival, The Roundhouse, and Plastic Orchid Factory. She has also studied Contemporary Arts at SFU, and studied with Ruth Little and Liz Lerman in Banff, among others. Thanks to the trust and generosity of her community, Heather now collaborates with various artists and organizations as an instructor, rehearsal director, creative advisor, interpreter, writer, and production assistant. She lives in Burnaby, BC, on unceded Central Coast Salish Territory. |
Board of Directors |
Staff |
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Peter Dickinson, President
Kristin McDougall, Vice President Christina Bulbrook, Secretary Peter Belanger, Treasurer |
Michael Helfrich, Accountant
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Collaborators
Dance ArtistsStéphanie Cyr
Kiera Hill Eden Solomon Brandon Alley Anya Saugstad Lucas Wilson-Bilbro Daria Mikhaylyuk Marisa Gold Justin Calvadores *Guests Kerstin Luettich and Barbara Karmazyn |
Artistic ProductionBarbara Adler/ Ten Thousand Wolves, Writer/ Dramaturge
James Meger/ Composer Yoko Seyama/ Scenography Alan Brodie/ Lighting David Cooper/ Photographer, Videographer Andrew Mackenzie/ Editor Heidi Quicke/ Production Manager |
Please support the work we do
Please consider a donation big or small to help us with some very exciting new developments. It is because of the investment of individuals such as yourself that we are able to present original, challenging work that we are proud to share and serve as a support system for emerging artists. As Inverso Productions, we are thrilled to be active artists in this community and we are grateful to have your support along this path.
Please click on the link above to contribute through The Scotiabank Dance Centre on our behalf.
Please specify INVERSO PRODUCTIONS in the comments. An official tax receipt will be provided.